Canfield students fight diabetes a step at a time

Neighbors | Submitted.Shown from left, (front) are Sydney Angelo, Madison Angelo and Trey Angelo with (Back) Katin Angelo and their mother, Erin Angelo. The family was one of many that joined the Diabetes Walk at the Canfield Fairgrounds.

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Neighbors | Submitted.Senior Kelly Dahman led the drum line in marching and playing cadences to keep participants moving at the Diabetes Walk at the Canfield Fairgrounds.

Team Canfield set out early Oct. 21 with one mission: fight diabetes. Approximately 20 Canfield High School students and others went to the Canfield Fairgrounds to walk for Team Canfield in the American Diabetes Association’s Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes.

Serenaded by the Canfield drum line, the walk began at 10 a.m. on the crisp fall morning and wound through the center of Canfield and the fairgrounds. The mood was happy, and the walkers chatted as they went along.

“It was a solid turnout,” said Canfield team leader and CHS teacher Erin Angelo. “It’s amazing how many people are willing to come out and walk on a Sunday morning. Every year, you see the same teams with more and more people.”

Angelo has been participating in the walk for 14 years, ever since a CHS teacher whose sister had Type 1 diabetes invited her. Now, she walks for her sister, her aunt and her cousins who have the disease.

“It’s the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States,” she said, adding that this alone should draw people out to help.

Katie Morrison has participated in the walk since she learned about it in Angelo’s class her sophomore year. Now a senior, she made Team Canfield her National Honor Society service project.

“My aunt has diabetes,” Morrison said. “I wanted my project to be something I was really passionate about. I felt I could do so much with it if it were my service project. I could get NHS involved.”

Team Canfield raised more than $700. The entire Step Out walk raised $70,000 by the end of October and donations are still coming in. Morrison herself has raised $120.

“The most rewarding part was calling everyone, telling them I was doing the Diabetes Walk,” said Morrison.

“We have a family friend whose husband has diabetes, and she can’t get out to do the walk. The best part is knowing that you are able to help people who are unable to get out, unable to do as much as they want. That’s the most rewarding.”

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